GHSA-5xpp-75jx-m839: systeminformation: OS command injection in networkInterfaces() via interfaces(5) source-directive path on Linux
Summary
On Linux, systeminformation's networkInterfaces() is vulnerable to OS command injection through the Debian/Ubuntu interfaces(5) source directive. While collecting per-interface DHCP state, the library reads /etc/network/interfaces and, for every source <path> line it encounters, extracts the path token *from the file content* and interpolates it unquoted into a shell command string that is run via execSync(). A source line whose path contains shell metacharacters executes arbitrary commands with the privileges of the calling Node.js process.
This is the same root-cause class as the previously-fixed NetworkManager-connection-name injection in this file: a value parsed out of local system state is re-interpolated into a shell command string without sanitization. The NetworkManager paths were converted to argument-array execution, but the interfaces(5) source-recursion sink in checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces() was left unfixed and still builds a shell string. The input to this sink is *unsanitized* (unlike the iface/connectionName paths, which pass through util.sanitizeString in strict mode before reaching their commands).
Impact
An attacker who can place or influence a sourced path in /etc/network/interfaces (or any file it transitively sources) achieves command execution inside any process that calls networkInterfaces(). Realistic affected deployments are the same ones that motivate this library:
- local inventory / asset agents
- monitoring and diagnostics agents
- admin-dashboard backends collecting host information
- device-management / desktop agents
If such a process runs with elevated privileges, the injected command runs with those privileges. networkInterfaces() is a core, frequently-called API and is reached transitively by getStaticData() / getAllData(), so the sink is exercised by ordinary usage on Linux.
Threat model
The dangerous value is not a function argument supplied by the caller. It is read from the *content* of an interfaces(5) configurat
Details
Original advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5xpp-75jx-m839
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Moderate exploitation riskCVE-2026-502891.9% 30-day exploitation probability. Patch within normal cadence, watch for KEV listing. Riskier than 77% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-50289 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
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